Camera support



L. B. BURNAM CAMERA SUPPORT July 15, 1952 Filed Sept. 8, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l zzvmvmx 5. 510720172 Patented July 15, 1 952- A UNITED STATES PATENTYOFFICE 2,603,134 ICAMERA SUP-PORT fhyman' B; Burnam, 'Ola'rkston; Wash. .sApplication'September 8, 1948,-Seria! No. 48,281

6 Claims. (01. 95- 86) 1' The present invention relates to improvements ins. camera support.

.Itv is .the principal purpose. of my invention to provide a means whereby a, camera can 'besupported at eye level or at waist level, from the shoulders of .the operaton leavingboth hands freefor operation of the camera.

Itis also a purpose of my invention to provide a deviceof this character which is so constructed as'to permit it .to be readily folded into a. compactshape when notin use.

111My invention also contemplates .the provision of. a device of this character wherein the chan e overfrom eye level to Waist level positions can be quickly accomplished at. the will of the operator. The .device' is. constructed of .a. few simple parts whichprovide. for a wide range of adjustment in order. that the individual user ofthe devicemay fit it to his. particular satisfaction.

"The nature and advantages of my invention willappearmore fully from the following description and accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of "the invention is shown. It should beuunderstood however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be considered as limiting the invention. except insofar as it is limitedby the claims.

In the drawings:

"Figure l is a view in side elevation of the camera support showing it used to support the camera with the view finder thereof at eye level;

"Figure .2 illustrates the device arranged to support the camera at waist level;

EigureB is aplan view of the camera support with-the camera removed;

Figure 41s a front face view of the camera supportshowing it arranged to hold the camera at Waist level;

Figure 5 ls;a plan view similar to Figure 3 but showing the parts folded. for carrying;

Figure 6' is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view'taken on the lineS-B of Figure 13;

Figure 7- is-an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 1-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional viewtaken on the line 8-8 of Figure 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, my invention provides a shouldersupported shelf on which a, camera may be mounted-b the usual mounting means employed for mounting the camera upon a tripod. I have found it a difficult matterin taking pictures, :to hold the camera steady, .particularly at eye level and to-perform theother functions necessary in taking a picture forvsthe reason that one hand-at. least is. essential tosupportthe camera. With the "present device [can support the camera entirely from my shoulders,.thus obtaining a steadier support than can possibly "beobtained by'holding the 'camera'in one hand, and I "have both hands free. The device comprises ashelf lll'which has-a standard pedestal l l which can be'threaded into the-tripod mountingplate l2'of'"a camera l3.

Forsome purposes, it is desirable to support the camera at waist level and in ordentoprovide a device that works equally'well for bothpurposes, I'mount the shelf 10 upon an-"adjustable'standard l4. 7 The standard is carried by abreast plate l'5TWhlCh inturnis supported by a pair of shoulder-clips lfi-and'll. The shoulder clips [6 and IT have straightporti'ons' l8 and I9 and curved portions zn and 2!. The curved portions fit'over the shoulders as shown, and carry the weight of the camera support with the attached camera. The straight portions Hand 19 extend through tubular guide portions 22 and at the endsof the breast plate l5 and are adjustable therein in order to control the level of the breast plate with respect to the shoulders.

The standard I 4 'is-mounted'forvertical adjustment on the breast plate by a slot in the standard-and guide posts 25' and 26 on the breast plate Hi. In order to clamp the standard in vertical position at the proper level, Iprovide a screwthreaded bolt or stud 21 on the breast plate anda' wing nut 28' for engaging the standard and clamping it against the breast plate.

When the standard is to be changed from the I position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2, it is only necessary to release the wing nut 28 far'enough to permit the standard to turn about the studZl over the tops'of the posts 25- and 26 until thecamerasupporting shelf i0 is below the breast plate and the slot 24 is'again aligned with the posts.

The'shelf Ill is hinged to the standard by a hinge 29'. Braces 3il and'3l are pivoted to the standardand areslotted' as indicated at 32 to receive apin 33 that isfixed on the shelf. The slot "32 isformed as .shown in Figure 8, with a hooked portion 34' by which'it canv be latched in position to hold the shelf lll'at right angles to the standard 14.

:As anexample of 'the'wayinwhich the camera [3 ismounted at the'desired position on the shelf I0, I illustrateinFigures 3 and'7,*a series of apertures'35 in theshelf. Anyone of these apertures maybe used tomount the pedestal l I by means of a'headed' screw 36 that extends'up through the selected aperture 35-and threads into the pedestal aeoaiee ll. With this construction the operator may position the camera pedestal closer to or far away from his eye and to the right or left of the center line of the shelf as he may desire.

The adjustability of the shoulder clips must be such that the clips may be lengthened or shortened above the breast plate l5, but they must be held against turning, that is, swinging about the1r vertical portions to slide'off the shoulders. This may be accomplished in various ways. One way is shown in Figure 6 wherein the sleeve 23 is threaded to receive a thumb screw 37 and the vertical portion 19 of the shoulder clip I1 is shown as provided with a series of sockets 38 intowhich the thumb screw can be extended. It is desirable from a protective standpoint to enclose the lower ends of the shoulder clips. This I accomplish by means of a cross bar 39 which fits over the ends of the shoulder clips and is secured thereto. This bar 39 may likewise-serve to prevent rotation of the shoulder clip if desired. In that case, it is unnecessary to have the thumb screw 31 perform the function of preventing rotation. I-IOW- ever, since the vertical adjustment must be providedto adapt the shoulder'clips to peopleof various sizes, it is more convenient to provide the non-rotational feature by means of the thumb t is a simple matter to fold the device into a compact fiat package when it is not in use. This is illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings Where the braces 30 have been reversed to allow the shelf Iii to fold up against the standard I4. The thumb screw 3i is turned back until the shoulder olip' I5 and i1 can'be rotated to lie against the breast plate [5. In this position all of the parts lie close to each other so that the device occupies very little space.

'It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. Having thus described my invention, I claim: 7 H

' 1. A portable camera support comprising a pair of spaced apart shoulder clips, a breast plate having sleeves at its ends and slidably and rotatably mounted on said shoulder clips, a hinged platform,- a slotted member slidably and pivotally mounted on said breast plate and extending upwardly and downwardly therefrom, said platform hinged from one end of said slotted member thereby providing a means for adjusting said platform to thewearers eye elevation or to the wearers Waist elevation.

2. A portable camera support comprising a pair 7 of spaced apart shoulder clips, a breast plate having sleeves at its ends and slidably mounted on said shoulder clips, a hinged platform, a slotted member slidably and pivotally mounted on said breast plate and extending upwardly and downwardly therefrom, said platform being hinged to said slotted member, a bar having short tubular parts fixed to its ends, said parts being fitted with set screws and apertures accommodating the notched ends of the shoulder clip extensions, said hinged platform being foldable up or down against said slotted member, said shoulder clips being foldable inwardly against said breast plate upon release of the set screws of the spacing rod thereby providing a two-elevation, adjustable camera support folding into a flat package.

3. A portable camera support comprising a pair of spaced apart shoulder clips, 2. breast plate having sleeves at its ends and slidably mounted on said shoulder clips, a slotted member slidably and pivotally mounted on said breast plate and extending-upwardly and downwardly therefrom, a camera supporting platform hinged to the slotted member, a thumb screw member seated in the breast plate and extending through the longitudinal slot of said slotted member and slidably and rotatably mounting said slotted member on said breast plate thereby providing elevation adjustment means for said camera support platforml. A camera support device comprising apair of rotatable shoulder clips, a spacing bar pivotally holding said clips apart, an adjustable breast plate ad ustable up and down between said clips and fitted with a thumb screw member at its center, a longitudinally slotted member rotatably and slidably supported upon said breast plate by said thumb screw member, a camera support platform swingingly hinged to one end of said slotted member, the device being foldable into a flat, package by said clips pivoting on said spacing bar and said platform pivoting on said slotted member and said camera support platform being adjustable to eye-level and waist-levelby rotatio about said thumb screw member.

5. In a portable camera support, a pair of spaced apart shoulder clips having straight shanks, a breast plate having sleeves at its ends,

the shanks of said clips being rotatably mounted in said sleeves, a spacer bar pivotally connecting said clips, a slotted standard pivotally and slidably attached to said breast plate, a'platform pivotally attached to said standard, pivotal and hinging means of folding said members into a flat package for portability, said means of folding screws fitted to the ends of said breast plate and the ends of said spacing bar thereby providing means of forming an adjustable rigid camera support platform from the portable flattened package. I

6. A camera support device comprising a pair of rotatable shoulder clips, a breast plate having guides thereon through which the clips extend, the, clips being slidable and rotatable in the guides, manually releasable means to hold the clips stationary in said guides, said breast plate having a central pivot stud projecting therefrom, a longitudinally slotted standard pivotally and slidably supported on said stud, means on the stud'to clamp the standard to the breast plate, and a camera support platform swingingly hinged to the standard, the device being foldable into a fiat package, by said clips pivoting on said breast plate and said platform pivoting on said standard, and said. camera support platform being eutliustablev to eye-level and waist-level by rotation of the standard on the breast plate.

LYMAN B. BURNAM.

REFERENEES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

